2011

Back Pain Relief! How You Can Finally

Find the Relief You’ve Been Looking For
With Rick Wilkes of www.Thrivingnow.com, and Jessica Ornter

Back pain has been described as an epidemic. It is one of the most common ailments
in the United States. According to the American Chiropractic Association, more than 31
million Americans experience low back pain at any given time.

Americans spend at least 50 billion each year on back pain, and that is not considering
money lost, as back pain – after colds – is the most common reason people miss work.
Our backs bear the brunt of our physical, emotional stress, and all the discord in our life.
When people use tapping it addresses the pain on all of those different levels. It takes
away the stress, so the physical back is not always under that anxious tension that can
cause pain and lack of mobility.

People who started using tapping on the stresses as they came up often find that at the
end of the day instead of feeling like they’d been beaten all day long, they feel surprisingly
flexible, relaxed, balanced, even stronger than when they started the day.

What everyday stresses might you be carrying in your back?

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There are physical, emotional and energetic components to the pain.

A chiropractic doctor looks at the physical structure of the back. They look for ways that
it is twisted, imbalanced, and they treat those aspects of it.

An orthopedic specialist will look at where there might be physical damage, where there
might be a nerve that’s impinged, where there’s stresses, strains, inflammation.

A physical therapist or massage therapist looks at the back physically as well.

When you look at the emotional and energetic components you can change your whole
relationship with your back.

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If there was an emotion in your back, what might it be?

- Anger, stress, strain?

- If there was a trauma in your life, when you remember that trauma, does your back pain
get worse?

What is stored in your back?

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For example: After a car accident, most professionals that people turn to look at the
physical changes in the spine and surrounding muscles to explain what’s happening in
the back. They won’t look at the trauma freeze response that might have triggered their
body into constantly clenching, ready for the next fall, the next time that the car gets hit.

If you separate out physical signals of pain and distress from the emotional suffering
aspect you can change the suffering. It doesn’t create the same kind of turmoil inside of
us.

Learn about your back. Learn about the ways that it is speaking to you.

Most people can start tuning into their back and feel the flow of energy up and down the
back. Feel whether there’s a nice alignment energetically.

If you address the physical side AND emotional side of back pain you’re going to feel
more power; the energetic power flowing from your core, and strengthening your arms,
your shoulders, your neck, your brain. All of those things are tied into our nervous system.

Some problems need physical intervention, but we can still tap on the emotions
around that.

What emotions and beliefs come up around your pain?

- I’m never going to get well again.

- I’ll never be able to run again.
- I’ll never be able to have sex again.

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- I’ll never be able to...
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Can you feel the suffering that comes from those emotions?

Tapping on those emotions brings clarity...

- Which is the right doctor for me?

- When do I get surgery?
- What is the right time to get surgery if surgery is called for?

Tuning Into Your Back

Touch a painful or weak area in your back (or imagine touching it if you can’t reach that
area) and ask:
“What does this area remind me of?”

You might get an answer like:

“Ah, I feel vulnerable.”

You can ask your back:

“Well when did you first feel vulnerable?”

There are many different ways that we have trauma related to vulnerability: neglect,
sexual abuse, emotionally unhealthy environments.

The body somatizes. It takes negative emotional states and will plop them somewhere.
For some people it’s the knee. For many people it’s their spine or their neck.

Before we start tapping: you need to be responsible for how you move and test your
back. These are suggestions that may or may not be right for you and your back.

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I encourage all of my clients to tune in at those three different levels.

Physically: How intense is the physical back pain?

Where is it? (Is it in your middle back, your low back, your neck?)
Give it an intensity rating, 0-10.
How do you move?

Emotionally: What emotions are you noticing in your back?

Energetically: How does it feel?

Does your energy flow, top to bottom, bottom to top?
Does it feel stuck somewhere?

Karate Chop: Even though I have this pain in my back, and some of it’s physical, some
of it may be emotional, and I don’t feel a positive energy in my spine at all, I deeply and
completely accept my back anyway.

Top of the Head: This pain in my back.

Eyebrow: This physical pain right there.
Side of the Eye: This emotional pain in my back.
Under the Eye: My back is suffering.
Under the Nose: I’m suffering.
Chin: I’m so tired of suffering.
Collarbone: This physical pain in my back.
Under the Arm: I’m in the process of letting it go,
Top of the Head: and Honoring and respecting all the feelings in my back.

Take a deep breath.

Certain Blocks Often Associated with Back Pain

Accident: a car accident, falling down the stairs, a sports injury.

Surgery: healed or not

Disease: Anything effecting the nervous system or bones and muscles in the back.

Emotional traumas: divorce, breakups, lost love, grief.

Sexual traumas: very common in low back pain.

Chronic emotional stress, fears, and pressures: people that have been living with an
alcoholic, constantly under the threat of being laid off, or debt pressures, unhealthy
boundaries.

Situations that make us feel unsafe.

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Karate Chop: Even though something did happen to my back, and I feel it still, I’m open
to the possibility of feeling surprisingly good anyway.

Even though I had an accident or a surgery, or my back just doesn’t feel good, and I don’t
see that changing, I’m open to the possibility of it changing anyway.

Top of the Head: This remaining accident in my back.

Eyebrow: This injury in my back.
Side of the Eye: This pain in my back.
Under the Eye: All the emotions in my back.
Under the Nose: I’m so tired of it.
Chin: I wish it would just be quiet.
Collarbone: But I’m listening right now.
Under the Arm: And I’m open to anything I can do,
Top of the Head: that will bring me relief.

Deep breath.

If You’re Nervous About Tapping

First of all there are no wrong words. You don’t even have to use words! I’ve encouraged
people, if they move a certain way and their back bites them, to just start tapping: “This
bite in my back, this ouch in my back, this profanity-that-I’m-not-going-to-repeat-right-
now-screamed-at-the-top-of-my-lungs in my back.”

And the key with tapping is to tune in to the energy of it. Whether it’s emotional or
physical, or both. Whatever you say is fine.

How can we begin to gain clarity on what our challenge is… what’s really causing
our back pain?

You can start with the physical and emotional stuff that’s right here, right now. Tap on
what you notice. Clarity often follows.

What if we’re very disconnected to that part of ourselves?

There is an intelligence in people disconnecting. Usually this happens because they feel
unsafe. And this is where a professional can be helpful in creating a safe space. If you
don’t really want to look at it alone, then your body’s just not going to tell you. It doesn’t
mean it’s not there, that it can’t be discovered, or that you’re clueless and incompetent
at listening to your body. It may not be something that you’re ready to hear until you feel
safe. Dealing with issues where we felt unsupported or abandoned can be really hard to
sooth yourself. Private sessions or group coaching can be very effective, or…

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You can tell usually by taking a place that’s in your back and either putting your hand
there or imagining a supportive friend’s hand on that area and just saying, “What emotion
might be there?”

There are some tips and tapping scripts for doing this in the Thriving Now Pain Relief
Mini Course.

What about physical and emotional posture?

If you think about somebody that is depressed, how do they walk around?

Slumped over, slow.

An emotional posture is where your emotions are reflected in the body. Depressed, you
start closing down. Angry, fists tight.

We think of posture as being physical, but emotions have a huge impact on how we
stand, move and sit. The good news is, if you address the emotional stuff, your physical
posture will improve. Now you may have to work through different layers of that.

If you’re seeing a chiropractor or doing physical therapy or going to Pilates and yoga
and the like, it’s good to remember that a lot of the reason that people stop is because
emotional stuff starts coming up. And that, this is where tapping can help you continue to
do something that is really good for you, that you really enjoy, and address the emotional
stuff that comes up.

Core Beliefs:

Our back is at our core. It often holds beliefs about who we are.

You can play around with it and say, “If you really knew me, and my secrets, you’d know
that I am _______________________________________.”

What comes up for you? It might be:

I am disgusting.
I’m undeserving and unworthy.
I’m guilty and I deserve to be punished.

Tap on whatever that belief is.

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Karate Chop: Even though I’m guilty, and I deserve to be punished, and I feel that in my
back, I’m open to the possibility of letting that go.

Top of the Head: Be serious.

Eyebrow: I’m guilty.
Side of the Eye: You don’t know how guilty I am.
Under the Eye: I deserve to be punished.
Under the Nose: I’m pretty sure I deserve to be punished.
Chin: Good thing my back pain punishes me every day.
Collarbone: Thank you back, for punishing me.
Under the Arm: I really do deserve to be punished.
Top of the Head: What if I don’t?
Eyebrow: I’m convinced I need to be punished.
Side of the Eye: What if I don’t?
Under the Eye: I’m open to not being punished anymore.
Under the Nose: My back has suffered enough.
Chin: I’m sorry, Back.
Collarbone: I’m letting you off the hook.
Under the Arm: Maybe I don’t deserve to be punished anymore.
Top of the Head: That would be great!

Deep breath.

If this is a core belief of yours, you can make a list of what the indictment is against you,
why do you deserve to be punished? Tap on each one.

How often do I need to tap, and for how long?

Even if you tap for 30 seconds and give yourself a little bit of relief, you’re teaching your
brain and your nervous system that now there’s a new game in town, there’s something
that you can turn to, to bring yourself relief.

You can set aside some time in the morning as part of your ritual. A couple of rounds like
that changes your energy. It takes you out of primitive brain; it sends a signal of relaxation
and soothing to your spine. Three times a day, five times a day for a few minutes, drink
lots of water and tap every time you need to use the restroom.

And if you have some serious accidents and traumas and the like, whether you’re working
on your own or working with a practitioner, set aside a couple of hours a week to write
out what happened, read it aloud, tap while you read aloud, and just notice if that’s
making a change in your spine.

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Limiting Beliefs: When we have negative or limiting beliefs our energy can be stuck
or trapped. There are a number of possibilities; “I’m taking too long to heal” is a very
common one for people. Pain Relief with EFT addresses other limiting beliefs and
emotional states.

Karate Chop: Even though my back is taking too long to heal, and I feel like it’s letting
me down, I deeply and completely accept myself anyway.

Top of the Head: I’m taking too long to heal.

Eyebrow: It feels like I’m taking too long to heal,
Side of the Eye: and that puts so much pressure on my back.
Under the Eye: My back is complex.
Under the Nose: But I want it to heal right now.
Chin: I’m so tired of having this pain in my back.
Collarbone: I feel like my back is letting me down.
Under the Arm: And I accept all of my feelings.
Top of the Head: This pain in the back,
Eyebrow: and how long it’s taking to heal.

Deep breath.

Where is the best place to begin?

There isn’t one “Best Place.” And that’s good news. There is no place that is more right or wrong
than another. Take your hand and just place it on your low back. What does that feel like?

Maybe that’s not the place that hurts the most, but just start there. It’s foundational; the rest of us
rests on our back, right? And if it’s feeling tired and stressed, just start there.

Karate Chop: Even though my low back feels tired and stressed, I deeply and completely
accept all of my feelings.

Top of the Head: My tired low back.

Eyebrow: My tired and stressed low back.
Side of the Eye: It has a lot riding on it.
Under the Eye: and Times have not been easy.
Under the Nose: I send love and acceptance to my low back.
Chin: Except for when I don’t.
Collarbone: I don’t always accept my low back.
Under the Arm: No wonder it feels tired and strained.
Top of the Head: But I’m changing my relationship with my back.
Right here, right now.

Deep breath.

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Your spine wants to support you. When it hurts, it’s easy to turn against it. We look for
ways to block the pain, ignore the pain, pretend that the imbalance isn’t there.

As you start listening to your back and paying attention to it, you learn about yourself.
You can learn how to care for your energy, how to become more emotionally flexible
and physically flexible. You can learn how to stand and be in the world more upright,
authentic, and your spine can reflect that and support you through that process.

Recommended Resources:

Pain Relief Mini Course

http://www.thrivingnow.com/painreliefmini

Anxiety Constricted Breathing Exercise

http://www.thrivingnow.com/breathing

Trauma and The Primitive Brain

http://www.thrivingnow.com/brain

Pain Relief with EFT

http://www.thrivingnow.com/pain-relief-with-eft/

Thriving Now Group Coaching Program

http://www.thrivingnow.com/team

Rick Wilkes is the founder of ThrivingNow.com. Rick is an EFT expert and

pain relief specialist who has worked with over 1500 clients. He was one
of the expert EFT practitioners in the documentary The Tapping Solution.

Rick helps people work through their emotional and physical pain to
connect to their inner guidance. As an Emotional Freedom Coach and
Trauma and Pain Relief Specialist with over 18 years of experience, he
uses intuition and a deep understanding of human nature to bring relief,
clarity, and insight to those looking for a better way.

Connecting body, mind, and spirit, he helps clients in private sessions and in his group coaching
programs to move out of suffering to a place where they begin to feel surprisingly calm and
confident. From there he teaches them how to shift to vibrational states of THRIVING in every
respect… physically vital, emotionally free, financially abundant, and spiritually connected to
Source… and enjoy feeling light, playful, eager, and curious!

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